Removable goggles for helmet

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for attaching removable photochromic goggles to a conventional crash helmet includes a post on one side of the helmet adjacent the face opening thereof and an over-center latch on the other side of the helmet which engage apexes of triangular eyelets formed in straps extending from the distal ends of the goggles. The over-center latch has a lever with a camming surface formed thereon, notched to retain the apex of one of the eyelets and pivoted such that upon turning of the lever aftwards the notch is moved aftwards, stretching the straps, within side brackets formed on the helmet for vertically locating the goggles in front of the wearer&#39;&#39;s eyes.

United States Patent 1 Benson et al.

1 1 Jan. 8, 1974 1 REMOVABLE GOGGLES FOR HELMET [73] Assignee: TheUnited States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy,Washington, DC.

22 Filed: Apr-.11, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 242,999

[52] U.S. Cl. 2/6 [51] Int. Cl A42b 3/00 [58] Field of Search 2/6, 9,10, 14 R,

2/14 W, 14 XS, 14 B, 14 C, 14 D, 14 H, 14 J, 14 K, 8, 3, 5; 128/142,142.5, 142.7, 146.7

259,926 6/1882 Rutty 24/69 SK FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 826,19812/1959 Great Britain 128/146] 820,745 9/1959 Great Britain 2/14 R530,312 12/1940 Great Britain 2/14 739,292 9/1943 Germany 2/9 PrimaryExaminer-James R. Boler Assistant Examiner-Wai M. Chan i l/19m.- i seiedfl nry Ha en [5 7 ABSTRACT Apparatus for attaching removablephotochromic goggles to a conventional crash helmet includes a post onone side of the helmet adjacent the face opening thereof and anover-center latch on the other side of the helmet which engage apexes oftriangular eyelets formed in straps extending from the distal ends ofthe goggles. The over-center latch has a lever with a camming surfaceformed thereon, notched to retain the apex of one of the eyelets andpivoted such that upon turning of the lever aftwards the notch is movedaftwards, stretching the straps, within side brackets formed on thehelmet for vertically locating the goggles in front of the wearers eyes.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 1 REMOVABLE GOGGLES FOR HELMET STATEMENT OFGOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufacturedand used by or for the Government of the United States of America forgovernmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon ortherefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION the like. Additionally, there is the recentdevelopment of photochromic goggles for flash blindness protection. Suchphotochromic goggles require relatively large voltimes for the operatingequipment, the electronics and other apparatus, and at the same timerelatively small goggle lenses. Furthermore, in their presentconfiguration such goggles typically connect to a separate or ancillaryelectronics package installed in the cockpit or crew compartment of theaircraft, and are inoperable without such package. Thus, thephotochromic goggles operate only when the pilot or the crew member isin place and offer no flash protection when the pilot is separated fromthe aircraft such as during escape or ejection. Furthermore, the presentstate of the art in photochromic goggles requires that lens sizes bekept to a minimum. In order to assure an adequate field of view and toassure an even weight distribution the goggles must be placed in closeproximity to the eyes of the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly it isthe; general purpose and object of thefpresent invention to provideattachment means on a crash helmet which will permit one-hand mountingand dismounting of goggles thereon and which at the same time will placethe goggles in close proximity to the'wearers eyes when in position.

These and other objects are accomplished according to the presentinvention by providing an over-center latch on one side of the faceopening of a helmet and apost on the other side thereof engageable withrespective eyelets formed in straps extending from either side from thegoggle assembly. The over-center latch is cammed to stretch thestrapsbetween a pair of side brackets formed on the sides of the helmetupon rotation aftward of a pivoted lever. The eyelets are triangularlyshaped with the apex thereof pointing towards the free ends of thestraps to permit quick alignment and easy engagement thereof with thepost and the latch respectively. The side brackets provide verticalsupport for the straps during attachment and also align and locate thegoggle assembly in front of the wearers eyes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a left side elevation viewof a crash helmet constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the helmet according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 in partial cross sectionaccording to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a left side elevation of an alternative embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the figures, aconventional crash helmet assembly 10 includes attached thereto aphotochromic goggle assembly 11 disposed across the face openingthereof. Adjacent the forehead area of helmet assembly 10 and on theoutside thereof there is formed a conventional visor shield 12 forreceiving protective visors (not shown) extending between a conventionalleft and right visor track 12a and 12b respectively. Goggle assembly 11,at the upper edge thereof, is curved to surround the bottom edge ofvisor shield 12 and has a partly deformable frame 13. Frame 13 enclosesleft and right photochromic lenses 14 and 15 respectively, aligned withthe eyes of the wearer, and further forms an enclosure for thephotochromic apparatus necessary to trigger the lenses (not shown).Electrical cable 19 attaches to frame 13 and connects at the other endto electronics package 18. The combination of the goggle assembly 11 andpackage 18 form a photochromic goggle or lens system substantially asdescribed in U. S. Pat. No. 3,152,215. Along the lateral interior edgesframe 13 has detents 17 to register goggle assembly 11 with visor guides12a and 12b and in alignment with the eyes of the wearer. Left and rightstraps 20 and 21, respectively, attach to the distal ends of frame 13.Each includes a correspondingtriangullar eyelet or opening 22, 23tapered to a curved or faired apex towards the end of the strap. Eacheyelet includes a metal insert or grommet 25 for providing the necessarystress distribution. Left-hand strap 20 engages post 30 by the apex ofeyelet 22, being retained vertically by a side bracket formed betweenthe bottom end of an upper fairing 26 attached to shield 12 along thecorresponding visor track 12a and an L-shaped plate 27 attached to thevisor track and extending outwardly therefrom at a distancesubstantially equal to the width of strap 20 below the fairing.

As shown in FIG. 2 right-hand eyelet 23 engages latch 31, which whenrotated aft brings goggle frame 13 in position. Right-hand strap 21 isalso vertically located by a side bracket formed between right-handfairing 28 and right-hand L-plate 29.

As shown in more detail in FIG. 3 latch 31 includes a mounting post 32attached to the shell of helmet as sembly 10, terminating on the outsideof the helmet in a pair of vertically opposed tabs 33 having pivotallymounted therebetween a lever 34. Lever 34 forms a cammed surface notchedto engage eyelet 23 and pivoted-off center such that when the lever isrotated aft the notch engaging the eyelet is brought back along the sideof the helmet stretching the straps within the respective brackets.

On the other side, eyelet 22 engages post 30. Post 30 forms a hook opentowards the aft side of the helmet and attached at the bottom thereof tothe helmet. Both eyelets- 22 and 23 are substantially triangular inshape with the apex of the triangle pointed towards the ends of strapsand 21 such that convenient alignment is facilitated simply by placingthe eyelet over the post at the large dimensions of the triangle andsliding the strap forward until the apex engages the post. The lengthsof straps 20 and 21 are selected such that when engaged at therespective eyelet apexes thereof detents 17 are aligned to clear thevisor tracks 12a and 12b at the face opening. Similarly on the latch 31side the eyelet is aligned at the large dimension thereof when lever 34is in a forward position and is locked at the apex by the aft rotationthereof.

The operation of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1 through 3 inclusive. In its most prevalent use thephotochromic goggle assembly 11 is kept stored in the crew compartment,separated from the helmet, and upon arriving at a mission point whereflash blindness can be anticipated the crew member grasps the right-handstrap 21 with one hand, first engaging post 30 by eyelet 22 in thelefthand strap 20 rotating assembly 11 within the side brackets to apoint where eyelet 23 is aligned with latch 31. The lever 34 of latch 31is originally placed in a forward position and is rotated through theeyelet 23 to an aft position engaging the apex of thereof and pullingthe strap 21 aftwards. In this manner assembly 11 is pulled towards theface of the wearer aligned vertically by the side brackets until itengages the lower edge of visor shield 12, forming an integral assemblytherewith. The disassembly and removal of the goggle assembly 11 followsin reverse the above procedure, initiated first by opening latch 31followed by the disengagement of eyelet 22 from post 30.

In FIG. 4 triangularly shaped sidestrap wire 50 is substituted foreyelet 22 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 also illustrates light sensors 52.

Some of the many advantages of the present invention should now bereadily apparent. The invention allows for quick, one-handedinstallation and removal of protective eye gear, allowing for quickresponses to changes in situations of a military aircraft mission. Theinvention further allows convenient modification of existing crashhelmets to accept relatively complex eye shields with only minoradditions in hardware.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in view of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a headgear assembly including a helmet with removableeye-protective goggles, the improvement comprising:

a pair of straps having their one ends connected to. respective sides ofthe goggles and terminating at their other ends in eyelets formedtherein, said eyelets having substantially triangular apertures withtheir apexes adjacent the other ends of said strap and includinggrommets therein;

a hook affixed to one side of the helmet for securing the other end ofsaid one strap;

latch means affixed to the other side of the helmet for releasablyattaching and stretching the other end of said other strap; and bracketmeans affixed to the sides of the helmet for receiving and registeringwith said straps to position the goggles substantially in alignment withthe eyes of the wearer.

2. A headgear assembly according to claim 1 in which the latch meansincludes an over-center notched lever for receiving an eyelet and forstretching the straps across the face opening of the helmet when rotatedrearwardly.

3. A headgear assembly according to claim 2, further comprising detentsformed on the interior surfaces of the sides of the eye-protectivegoggles for registering with the face opening.

1. In a headgear assembly including a helmet with removableeyeprotective goggles, the improvement comprising: a pair of strapshaving their one ends connected to respective sides of the goggles andterminating at their other ends in eyelets formed therein, said eyeletshaving substantially triangular apertures with their apexes adjacent theother ends of said strap and including grommets therein; a hook affixedto one side of the helmet for securing the other end of said one strap;latch means affixed to the other side of the helmet for releasablyattaching and stretching the other end of said other strap; and bracketmeans affixed to the sides of the helmet for receiving and registeringwith said straps to position the goggles substantially in alignment withthe eyes of the wearer.
 2. A headgear assembly according to claim 1 inwhich the latch means includes an over-center notched lever forreceiving an eyelet and for stretching the straps across the faceopening of the helmet when rotated rearwardly.
 3. A headgear assemblyaccording to claim 2, further comprising detents formed on the interiorsurfaces of the sides of the eye-protective goggles for registering withthe face opening.